Inherit the Wind

The debate over evolution versus creationism is at the center of thrilling courtroom drama, Inherit the Wind. The play, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, which debuted in 1955, is still just as relevant today. The story fictionalizes the 1925 “Scopes Monkey Trial,” in which Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in violation of state law. The play centers around two titans of the courtroom based on William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, who, before they were legal adversaries, were childhood friends. The two master attorneys square off in the courtroom, while the teacher's fate hangs in the balance. This moving, riveting drama also takes a look at the way different journeys in life can lead to vastly divergent paths and, ultimately, philosophies.